,i #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #abba ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,february #bg1 #bjag,mr4 ,fortenberry 7for himself and ,mr4 ,crowley7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to seek the establishment of and contributions to an ,international ,fund for ,israeli-,palestinian ,peace4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,international ,fund for ,israeli-,palestinian ,peace ,authorization ,act of #bjag4 #b4 ,findings and purposes 7a7 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,peaceful co-existence in the ,middle ,east between ,israelis and ,palestinians1 and between ,muslims1 ,christians1 ,jews1 and those of all backgrounds is in the interests of the ,united ,states1 ,israel1 the ,palestinian people1 and the world4 7#b7 ,while the ,united ,states and its international allies continue to support diplomatic and political negotiations between the representatives of the parties to the conflict as well as others1 in the long run such efforts require broad popular support among people in order to succeed4 ,in order to achieve lasting peace in the region1 the people who live there must1 over time1 sustain any potential high-level agreements4 7#c7 ,through many independent individual and nongovernmental activities1 tens of thousands of people of different backgrounds are already working together to build better relations between people1 through people-to-people coexistence and trust-building measures1 activities1 and other cooperative efforts4 7#d7 ,by working cooperatively on shared goals and addressing mutual understanding1 participants in such activities1 including youth1 can come to reject violence and understand the promise of peaceful coexistence4 7#e7 ,through support for people-to-people exchanges in the region and joint economic initiatives1 millions of ordinary citizens affected by this conflict can assist in building support for lasting peace4 7#f7 ,working together1 the ,united ,states1 countries around the world1 and the private sector can1 and often seek to support opportunities that1 help sustain support for peace with the establishment and funding of an independent ,international ,fund for ,israeli-,palestinian ,peace 7referred to in this ,act as the ,international ,fund71 to promote and support contact1 cooperation1 dialogue1 shared community building1 peaceful coexistence1 joint economic development1 and reconciliation between ,israelis and ,palestinians4 7#g7 ,united ,states and international support for grassroots people-to-people efforts can help serve as an antidote to false propaganda by terrorist groups and the growing issue of incitement4 7#h7 ,the ,international ,fund shall serve as a coordinating entity offering expertise and support1 adhering to best practices for governance1 transparency1 assessment and accountability4 ,the ,international ,fund will be an ongoing presence and catalyst for rejecting violence and building broad public support for sustaining peace in the region4 ,the ,international ,fund is not intended to be a political forum1 but a grant-making body to facilitate enduring people-to-people relationships and sustained joint economic development4 7b7 ,purposes ,the purposes of this ,act are as follows3 7#a7 ,to urge the ,president to make every effort1 in conjunction with the ,government of ,israel1 the ,palestinian ,authority1 regional governments1 and the international community to establish a non-political1 mutually acceptable ,international ,fund to promote and support contact1 cooperation1 dialogue1 shared community building1 peaceful coexistence1 joint economic development1 and reconciliation between ,israelis and ,palestinians4 7#b7 ,to provide for ,united ,states contributions to consist of amounts made available to carry out chapter #d of part ,,ii of the ,foreign ,assistance ,act of #aifa 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bcdf et seq4 7relating to the ,economic ,support ,fund77 for payment to the ,international ,fund to carry out the activities described in paragraph 7#a71 in addition to overhead costs of the establishment of said fund and the function of its oversight board4 #c4 ,establishment of ,international ,fund for ,israeli-,palestinian ,peace ,congress urges the ,president to make every effort1 in conjunction with the ,government of ,israel1 the ,palestinian ,authority1 and the international community1 to establish an ,international ,fund for ,israeli-,palestinian ,peace governed by a board of the constituent parties to carry out the purposes described in section #b7;b74 #d4 ,united ,states ,contributions to the ,international ,fund for ,israeli-,palestinian ,peace 7a7 ,in general ,of the amounts made available for each of fiscal years #bjag through #bjba to carry out chapter #d of part ,,ii of the ,foreign ,assistance ,act of #aifa 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bcdf et seq4 7relating to the ,economic ,support ,fund771 #ej1jjj1jjj is authorized to be appropriated for ,united ,states contributions to the ,international ,fund following the committee of jurisdictions agreement to the structure of the fund and its board4 7b7 ,additional authorities ,amounts authorized to be appropriated pursuant to subsection 7a7-- 7#a7 are in addition to amounts otherwise authorized to be appropriated for such purposes2 and 7#b7 are authorized to remain available until expended4 #e4 ,conditions and ,understandings ,relating to ,international ,fund for ,israeli-,palestinian ,peace 7a7 ,support and promotion of purposes ,united ,states contributions to the ,international ,fund provided for in section #d may be used only to support and promote the purposes described in section #b7;b74 7b7 ,additional restrictions ,the restrictions described in section #eca7;e7 of the ,foreign ,assistance ,act of #aifa 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bcdf7;e77 shall apply to ,united ,states contributions to the ,international ,fund provided for in section #d to the same extent and in the same manner as such restrictions apply to amounts made available to carry out chapter #d of part ,,ii of the ,foreign ,assistance ,act of #aifa4 ,the ,united ,states contributions shall be managed and dispersed through existing ,,usaid mechanisms4 7c7 ,united ,states representation on ,board of ,international ,fund ,the ,united ,states shall provide two representatives from different political parties to the ,board of the ,international ,fund4 ,the function of the board is to provide recommendations for programmatic support and direction on promoting contact1 cooperation1 dialogue1 shared community building1 peaceful coexistence1 joint economic development1 and reconciliation between ,israelis and ,palestinians4 ,the board should oversee and contain an expertise in program integrity1 monitoring and evaluation and assessment4 #f4 ,annual report 7a7 ,in general ,at the end of each fiscal year in which the ,united ,states ,government makes any contribution to the ,international ,fund in accordance with this ,act1 the ,president shall transmit to ,congress a written report on the extent to which the ,international ,fund and ,united ,states contributions to the ,international ,fund have contributed to promoting and supporting contact1 cooperation1 dialogue1 shared community building1 peaceful coexistence1 joint economic development1 and reconciliation between ,israelis and ,palestinians4 7b7 ,matters ,to be included ,the reports required under subsection 7a7 shall also include the following3 7#a7 ,information on contributions pledged to1 contributions 7including donations from the private sector7 received by1 and projects funded by the ,international ,fund1 and the mechanisms established for transparency and accountability in the grant-making process4 7#b7 ,a description of the ,international ,fund's operations1 activities1 budget1 receipts1 and expenditures for the preceding #ab-month period1 including an audited report of the ,international ,fund's finances1 including statements of financial position1 operations1 and cash flows1 in accordance with the ,united ,states generally accepted government auditing standards as prescribed by the ,comptroller ,general4 7#c7 ,insights gleaned from what drives the efficacy of people-to-people relationships in addition to a description of potential strategies for getting to sustainability for civic institutions that the fund creates or supports including novel financing mechanisms4